1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward a flexible embossed supportive surface for coated abrasives, and more particularly to such devices that allow the user to firmly work a coated abrasive over a roughened surface while allowing for enough independent movement of the coated abrasive to evenly reach all the contours of the roughened surface.
2. Prior Art Statement
Deformable supportive backings used as mediums between tools and coated abrasives have been in existence for decades. In fact, a majority of modern hand and power tool applications of coated abrasives require a supportive backing to assure their effective use. However there are certain disadvantages inherent in all supportive backings. If a supportive surface is flat or overly firm, the supportive surface will not allow the coated abrasive to follow all the contours of a roughened surface. This retards the effectiveness of the abrasive and results in the need of additional work to smooth a roughened area. If a supportive surface is too soft, the surface allows for slippage and buckling of the coated abrasive which greatly decreases its working life. Prior art has addressed this problem in several ways. The most common way is to emboss voids onto the surface of a flexible but firm material. This approach has been used for a hundred years and is exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,175,245 to Dennis, and 1,595,700 to Backland. Both patents show an embossed surface in their drawings but fail to address the advantages represented by such configurations. The advantages of such embossing are that a firm material can be used to support the coated abrasive and that the deformation allowed by the embossed voids increase the efficiency of the coated abrasive. The disadvantages of such embossed configurations is that the firm embossed surface, although an advantage over a soft solid surface, still allows the coated abrasive to bind, bend and fold when worked across a roughened area especially along the working edges of such backings.
Alternate approaches were developed to eliminate these inherent embossed supportive surface problems. They are exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,900,976 to Kitts and 3,892,091 to Hutchins. The Kitt Patent addressed the bending and folding coated abrasive problem by creating a supportive backing that is covered with suction cups. The suction cups adhere to the back of the coated abrasives and prevent bending and folding of the coated abrasive. The Hutchins Patent approached the problem by using an adhesive abrading sheet in conjunction with an embossed surface. The bending and folding of the abrasive sheet was eliminated by the adhesive interplay of the supportive surface and the abrasive sheet.
Thus, prior art does show us that there are inherent problems with supportive backings to coated abrasives and that solutions to these problems have been pursued for a century. However, the prior art does not teach nor suggest the unique approach to these problems addressed by the present invention herein.